# humidor lid a little warped.



## seansbrew (Sep 11, 2010)

This may be a little long winded, but I need help. 

A few months ago I purchased my first humidor. It is a quality importers humidor. I started out by seasoning the humidor per the instructions. 

I have never really kept more than a few cigars in it and they never lasted more than a few weeks. 

When I smoked them they seemed to have the correct amount of humidity so I assumed all was well. My analog hygro readings were typically 70 % RH on average. 

A couple weeks ago I purchased about twenty cigars through the mail. They took about a week to get here to AZ and they were just a little dry. I put them in my humidor for a few weeks. 

After a few weeks I took one out and examined it. It felt dryer than it did when it first arrived in the mail. 

After reading quite a few tutorials on seasoning humidors I realized I might not have adequately charged mine. 

I thought the sticks might still be dry because the were competing with the humidor for moisture. 

So, I took all my cigars out and put them in a heavy duty zip-lock bag with a water pillow. I went through the seasoning process again using a totally different method. 

I am on day four now and the humidor is saturated and holding a steady RH of 70% (I also purchased a new digital temp/hygro)

I performed the lid drop test and the lid slows down considerably before gently closing. I also performed the strip/gap test and found something of concern. About 90% of the lid is sealed so tight that I cannot pull the one inch width strip of paper free. However, I found a section of the humidor seal that allows my to pull the paper strip free. It has resistance, but is not consistent with the rest of the seal. When I look with a flashlight. I can see a gap in the corner of the of the humidor lid that is almost a credit card width thick. 

Since I had never performed this inspection, I do not know if the humidor was in this condition when it arrived. 

How concerned should I be? Can it be fixed? Is it ok to have a small gap? 

For now I have a stack of books (about 6 hardbacks) sitting on the top corner of the humidor sealing it completely. The sticks were just put in tonight and I need to give the humidor some time for the RH to come back up. I know it is not practical to keep a stack of books on top, but after the RH comes back to proper range, I will take the books off to see if the RH changes. 

Anyway what do you guys/gals think? Sorry for the long post and thanks for your patience. 



Sean.


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## dyieldin (Sep 27, 2009)

I would not be all that concerned with that, you could make it worse by trying anything to fix that little bit. Just be sure the hydro is good via the salt test and leave well enough alone.


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## marked (Jul 29, 2010)

The flashlight thing..... you mean you put a flashlight in the box, closed the lid, and could see light coming out?


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## seansbrew (Sep 11, 2010)

marked said:


> The flashlight thing..... you mean you put a flashlight in the box, closed the lid, and could see light coming out?


I used the flashlight to inspect from the outside of the box.


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## russ812 (Aug 14, 2010)

if installed carefully, maybe something like one of these: Catches, Latches and Locks - Lee Valley Tools - Woodworking Tools, Gardening Tools, Hardware Supplies

You could make it so it really holds the lid down tightly, but would look much nicer that the stack of books.


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## marked (Jul 29, 2010)

seansbrew said:


> I used the flashlight to inspect from the outside of the box.


Go into a dark room like a bathroom, turn the flashlight on, put it in the box, close the lid. If you see light, you have an issue. If not, you're probably okay.


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## seansbrew (Sep 11, 2010)

Hello all, it's been sometime and plenty of cigars since I last posted. My Humidor is just fine and since I've stopped obsessing over the numbers on that digital thingy, life is much better. The condition of the sticks in my box tell me what to do. Thanks for the replies


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## Batista30 (Sep 13, 2010)

Anything else you need help with? We like seeing you post even if it's for your own benefit.


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## seansbrew (Sep 11, 2010)

Batista30 said:


> Anything else you need help with? We like seeing you post even if it's for your own benefit.


No I'm good, but if I do you'll be the first to know.


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